I can recommend the book "The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England" - it mentions the amount of military training that both knights and commoners were expected to perform. Basically a knight was trained from a very early age to fight - no way would an average 21st century male be able to compete in skill or strength.
Even for commeners they were still often legally required to spend a significant amount of time working on their marshal skills - mainly archery.
e.g. Here in Scotland there was a time that games like golf and football were officially banned as they were seen to distract men away from military training for the wars with England.
Even for commeners they were still often legally required to spend a significant amount of time working on their marshal skills - mainly archery.
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Guide-Medieval-England/...
e.g. Here in Scotland there was a time that games like golf and football were officially banned as they were seen to distract men away from military training for the wars with England.